1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to automated aseptic sampling workstations. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to workstations for use in the automated taking of product samples during the processing of various fluids, as well as to sample collection devices used with such automated workstations.
2. Description of Related Art
The processing of many fluid products can be performed in a sterile environment and/or an aseptic environment to protect the product and/or the manufacturing personnel from contamination. Such fluid products can include, but are not limited to, pharmaceutical products (e.g., medicines and vaccines), food products, biological products, biochemical products, chemical products, and any combinations thereof. During such processing, it is known to sample or test the fluid product before, during, and after certain processing steps to ensure that the resultant product meets various acceptance criteria.
In some instances, the sampling can be performed during or after certain process steps and/or at certain time intervals. In other instances, the sampling can be performed after the product has been made, but before the production batch is released for use by consumers.
Importantly, the taking of a sample from the processing line is a critical activity and creates a potential risk of contaminating the product and/or the sample. Unfortunately, the risk of contamination often leads manufacturers to limit the number of samples that are obtained and/or to limit the number of locations where such samples are obtained.
In addition, contamination of the sample may cause a false result, which can lead to the unneeded destruction of a product batch and/or unneeded delay in the continuation of the production process until the cause of the contamination is determined. Further, the need to clean and sterilize the sample path before and/or after each batch typically requires the sampling devices to be hard piped into a specific location in the production line, which can limit the flexibility of the processing line to process other products in a timely and efficient manner.
Further, the samples that are taken must be properly identified by the operator responsible for taking the sample and this identifying information must then subsequently be input by the department responsible department responsible for testing the sample. The manual identification of samples by the sample taker and the manual input of this identity by the sample tester have proven to be error prone, which can further complicate the proper testing and release of product.
Accordingly, it has been determined by the present disclosure that there is a need for workstations that can overcome, alleviate, and/or mitigate one or more of the aforementioned and/or other deleterious effects of the prior art. For example, it has been determined by the present disclosure that there is a need for workstations that automate sampling of fluid products, while ensuring sample integrity and eliminating the risk of sample and product contamination, and minimizing errors related to manual input of data related to the samples.